The Thirst to Prove
by 12345l12345
Summary: Harry found out about his abnormality when he was 8, and so he begins training to be someone to defeat the murderer of his parents....going to be powerful, strong, etc.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: Hi guys! I've been reading so much fanfiction, that I've decided to write one myself. I'm not sure whether this kind has been done before, but Harry's going to be powerful, smart, and all the good stuff. It starts when he's eight, and even then I might not put much pairings in it. I have the plot bunnies at my hand today, so it shouldn't be abandoned anytime sooner! 

The Thirst to Prove

Chapter 1

Harry Potter, aged 8, laid down on his thin mattress in the small cupboard of No. 4 Privet Drive. In all the neat, tidy houses that were stationed in order of the very normal street, Harry Potter, was everything but normal. Just yesterday, when he was hiding from Dudley and his gang, Harry found himself up on the top of the roof when he was supposed to be on the ground. His cousin, told on him, and the teacher called Harry's uncle and aunt, for "inappropriate climbing on school property". Needless to say, Vernon and Petunia were outrage, and shut him in his cupboard. So now he was cramped in his little space, his tummy growling every so often.

Harry picked up a spider that was crawling on the floor and gently lifted it out of the small window beside him. He was sure he wouldn't get any dinner tonight, and even if he did, it wouldn't satisfy half of what he needed. Harry wondered what life would be like if his parents had survived the car crash: would they love him? He snorted; Aunt Petunia smothered Dudley like he was going to die tomorrow, surely they'll love him. After school, he would find some of his classmates being picked up by their relatives, but none would be like Uncle Vernon, calling him "boy" and dragging him to the car by the ear. Maybe he was just unlucky to be stuck with such self-centered relatives. Sometimes Harry would imagine his parents in the cupboard with him, singing lullabies and reading him fairytales, about magical castles and great wizards. He once had a dream about a motorcycle flying, but ever since he mentioned reading about how Merlin could perform magic to his Aunt and Uncle, Uncle Vernon's face turned into a interesting shade of purple and threw him in his cupboard, saying, "If you can't be normal, you'd better act normal!" and didn't feed him for two days.

After that, he knew better than to mention oddness in the Dursley household. Just then, the door to his cupboard was thrown open.

Uncle Vernon glared at him." Boy, go help your Aunt make dinner. No more abnormality, do you hear?"

Harry nodded, and proceeded to go to the kitchen. Helping in the kitchen was not fun, especially when Dudley was at home. He would whine, beg to try out the food, and after trying it, he would spit it out in fake-disgust, and say the freak had purposely made it tasteless. Aunt Petunia would then yell at him for a full 5 minutes, and if he was lucky, he would not need to clean up the disgusting patch of liquid and solids where Dudley had graciously spit out. It was a funny thing, Harry mused, that Dudley would always finish his plate and ask for second helpings at the dining table.

Luckily, Dudley's pig-like eyes were glued to the screen that night, and Harry was able to cook in peace. He was quite a good cook, and sometimes Uncle Vernon would even compliment him. Yet later, Uncle Vernon would add on "Boy, if you get kicked out of school, you could always cook like a sissy and make a living out of it. Now, Dudley, my boy, would be a football player and be a real man! Right, Duddlers?"

Harry would somehow bite in his amusement. He was the top in his class, and even though his teacher didn't like him, Harry was on the list for being promoted to the next grade, maybe even two grades. He didn't even try – it came to him like second nature. He just knew it. And for Dudley being a football player? He'd probably squash on the opposite players and be jailed for "killing people by heavy suffocation".

This evening, the conversation topic was quite unusual, as Uncle Vernon hadn't degraded Harry in any way. When he was finished, Vernon glanced at Petunia and announced. "Harry, ever since your freak - " Petunia raised her eyebrows at him – "I mean, parents, yes, parents, died in the car crash, you have been living off us. We've gave you food, gave you clothes to wear, and we've given you a room to stay in." Harry inwardly snorted. "So, I think this is the time when you should repay us." Harry looked at him. "I've helped you found a job in London, washing dishes. Every day after school until 9, and the whole day on Saturday. Your Aunt was very generous; she decided to let you stay at home on Sundays. We will give you an allowance of 5 pounds a week though, fair enough?"

Harry stared at him. "Uncle Vernon, you do realize that it's against the law if I don't want to do it, right?" Vernon's face began changing colors. Realizing the signs, he hurriedly added "But I'll be willing to do it. I do, however, have a request. I want Dudley's second bedroom. I'll still do the chores around the house and you could cut my allowance to 3 pounds a week too"

Vernon looked at Petunia. Petunia's lips curled for a few seconds, then nodded slightly at Vernon. "Fine boy. But I won't be driving you to London every day. You go find a way. It's from five to nine on weekdays, and you'd better not be late!"

Harry smiled a bit and said, "Yes, sir!"

Dudley looked at his parents, and yelled "Mummy, I don't want the freak to live in my room! He'll dirty it!"

Petunia looked adoringly at her son and said, "Now sweetie, we'll buy you a new TV next week, and then you could forget about the old toys in Harry's bedroom."

Turning to Harry, she said, "What are you sitting here for? Go wash the dishes, and then move all your stuff up to your room! I don't want you touching any of the toys, I'll be moving them out soon!"

Harry picked up the dishes and rolled his eyes when his guardians weren't looking. He was eight, but he never wanted much toys. The toys Dudley had were just so boring. He could slightly remember him riding on a little broomstick, but he had dismissed it as a dream. After all, brooms couldn't be used to fly, right? But then, he wasn't supposed to appear suddenly on the tops of buildings, was he?

A/R: I've decided to call it Author's Rant since it's going to be the same every time: review!!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Anyone interested in being my beta reader?

Chapter 2

Harry lay on his bed with a smile. He finally had a bed. Sure, it was old, the mattress was lumpy, but it was bed. Furthermore, the room was his. He had not own anything decent in his 7 years of living in the Dursley family. Harry was sure his parents gave him much of what they had. Although, Aunt Petunia had said they did not have a job. Harry doubt that – he knew he himself was smart, so his parents couldn't be that bad. But whatever, he had a room all by himself. No longer he needed to save small creatures from being squashed by him turning in his sleep, and no longer he would have the feeling of being confined in a small space.

Aunt Petunia, true to her words, had moved all toys into Dudley's bedroom. A spoiled kid he was, thought Harry, that his parents agreed to switch rooms with him. Now Dudley had a bigger room, and a larger bathroom. Privately, Harry thought it was a matter of sooner or later – as at the rate Dudley was growing in the wrong direction, the bathroom in his old bedroom would mostly likely not allow him entrance. Amused, Harry looked around at his bedroom. The bookshelf, filled with books of every kind, had a thin shear of dust covered. Dudley never read, and Harry had always wondered whether if it was he had no interest in reading, or that he did not had the ability to.

At that moment, Aunt Petunia's bony figure could be seen at the doorway, and said sharply to Harry "Boy, don't go into Dudley's room to play with his toys. Dudley didn't want any books so you can have the rest of them. But don't go dirtying his toys, I'm warning you, or your privilege of having a room would be suspended!" With that, she left.

Harry suspected she went to cuddle Duddlers, and was proven right when he heard a very girly sound coming from the hallway, "Now, my Duddlers, what else to you want mummy to buy for you next week?"

With sickening sounds of "I want…and I want…" Harry shuddered on instinct and promptly went up and closed his door. He really needed to clean his room, as the desk, (or what was left of it) was covered with a sticky substance, (in which he desperately hoped it was glue) But for now, the mystery of how he appeared onto the roof, and his very early spring cleaning, had to be put on hold.

The clock read 10:20 pm as Harry Potter fell to sleep before his head touched the pillow.

/\

It was a very nice day, as Harry woke up on the next morning. He groaned a bit, as he knew it was his first day as a dishwasher. He really didn't mind working; he needed a way to get out of Harry Hunting anyways. But, getting to London was a drag. He dully dressed himself and went into the bathroom. As a private bathroom, Harry finally had the luxury of spending time in the without being urged by Dudley to "Hurry up! Mommm!!Harry's hogging the toilet!" Harry was always annoyed by Dudley's behavior; after all, Dudley did had a more luxurious suite…why use the bathroom where guests used?

Finally finished cleaning himself up, Harry walked down the stairs, to the kitchen, and began to make breakfast. He had always been an early-waker, or, he would happily blame the Dursley's, for he had been forced to wake up early so many times, that his body was accustomed to wake automatically at six thirty in the morning. Frying the eggs expertly, he hummed a little tune. It was a melody he had heard…from somewhere. Harry was sure his Aunt hadn't hummed him any lullabies when he was young, so he held in strong belief that it was something his parents had done. Satisfied with how the eggs were cooked, he turned off the fire and began to put in some bacon in another pan. While the smell of rich butter and bacon wafted into the air, Harry went to the toaster and put bread in it. He had always loved mornings. Uncle Vernon's attention would be alert only on the newspaper; Aunt Petunia would cuddle Dudley, and Dudley, as always, would focus on the food as if his life was depended on it. Harry, himself, would eat breakfast in peace. It was quite strange, that an 8 year old boy would cook breakfast and liked being ignored, as most boys would run like hooligans in the morning, opening the TV set and firing plastic bullets and imaginary thieves.

Yet, we all know, Harry Potter was not normal.

At half past seven, Petunia went down to the kitchen. She sat down on one of the chairs and told Harry "You're expected to be there at ten thirty. Your Uncle has decided to drive you there this morning."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

"Don't expect your Uncle's generosity to happen occasionally, boy, we didn't want you to get lost going there on the first day and end up demolishing Vernon's reputation."

Harry bit in a laugh and sighed to himself. It'd be a long day. "I understand, Aunt Petunia, would you like milk or juice with your breakfast?"

/\

At eight fifteen, Harry left for London with his uncle. As it was quite a sunny day, Harry put on a baseball cap that covered his black untidy hair and a very unique scar. It was shaped like a lightning bolt, and many school children thought it looked very cool. Already a man, before he hits puberty, some would say (behind Dudley's back). Harry, though, thought it was a pity. Of all the things the car crash could've left him, it was a weird scar. He'd rather have his parents back, thank you very much.

On the way, Vernon grumbled, muttering about "ungrateful brats" and "freaks that died on purpose to torture our lovely normal beings" Harry smartly stayed quiet. By eight thirty, Vernon's car stopped at a nice-looking restaurant that had neon lights saying "D'Amour"

"Now, boy, I'm warning you, be a good dish-washer and when you get a raise, you might get more pocket money. Anything you damaged would be cut from your measly allowance, you understand?"

"You give out the allowance, not that I want it to be measly," muttered Harry under his breath,

Uncle Vernon glared at him "Speak up, boy, don't whisper like a girl!"

"I said, I understand." Harry quickly changed the topic. Looking at the restaurant, he said, "So D'Amour is between Leaky Cauldron and The Sport's Shop, I got it."

Uncle Vernon looked at him and said "What Leaky Cauldron, boy, speak sense! Don't you learn in school? Next to it is that grubby stall, selling vegetables!"

Harry did a double take. There was, in fact, a small pub called Leaky Cauldron, and next to it was a stall, but it was definitely not beside D'Amour. Shrugging his shoulders, concluding his uncle was both dumb and blind, he opened the lock to the car and said goodbye. Vernon looked suspiciously at him one more time, before driving off without looking back.

Harry looked at his battered watch in which he found under Dudley's old bed. It read eight thirty-five, and knowing he had more than enough time, he decided to investigate the pub. Randomly tugging on a person's shirt, he asked "Miss, my mummy just went in to that shop, and I'm trying to read that sign over there. Could you pronounce it for me?" He pointed at the Leaky Cauldron.

The lady looked at Harry, who was as cute as a puppy, smiled and said "Sweetie, that's a vegetable stall. Do you mean the sign that says 'D'amour'?"

Harry, sensing he could only see it, giggled and said happily "Opps, pointed at the wrong direction! Thanks miss! Bye!" With that, he turned to leave.

Hearing a faint "Your welcome!" Harry looked at the passersby. Most eyes seemed to turn from the sport store to D'amour. Strange, he thought. With that, he began to walk into the mysterious Leaky Cauldron.

Ting

A few wind-bells twinkled merrily on top of him. The pub was quite dark, but quite a lot of people were in it. Harry quickly slid to a corner, observing. He had learned this skill ever since Dudley invented Harry Hunting, and somehow, when he was in the shadows, Dudley could never find him. Harry could see his own body, but others couldn't. It was a very nifty trick, as the school had many corners where sunlight hardly touched it. But, once when the teacher told him to stand in a corner for "taking another student's property without asking" (courtesy of Dudley), the teacher called to his relatives, saying Harry had ran away from punishment. Yet Harry had stood there for the whole morning, and it wasn't until in the late afternoon when a few rays of sunlight touched his toes and the teacher saw him. Harry had never needed to stand in a corner for punishment ever again.

He was very curious, as many different people came in and went out of another door. Swiftly, he followed a person and went out into a grassy courtyard. The red brick wall had an opening and people seem to be going in and out from it. Curious, Harry followed a few shadows and squeezed through the opening with no one seeing him. Grinning slightly, he looked around.

His mouth fell open.

A street, full with people in colored robes, were crowded along the streets down the few stairs Harry was on. Voices of "Dragon meat, 15 sickles per ounce! On special only today!" and "Muggles, overpopulating the country…" Nearby, a shop selling animals had owls hooting, frogs croaking, and suddenly a large ginger cat jumped from nowhere and the shopkeeper began chasing for it, yelling, "4 sickles only for this half-kneezle!"

Amused, Harry finally closed his mouth. But the shock was overwhelming. _Could there be another civilization and nobody knew?_

As if to answer Harry's question, a person shouted "_Accio _trunk!" And Harry saw a large truck flying over to the person. Harry's eyes budge out. _There was magic!_

He began going down the stairs to the crowded streets, his head turning this way and that, _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasion's, _said a sign over a large clothing store, which had different colors of robes and styles advertised on the window sills. _Quills, from Quacks_ said another, that looked very fancy and elegant. A store selling cauldrons could be seen, and a two-level bookstore seemed to be made of thousands of books packed against one over another as bricks. Curious than ever, Harry went to touch the structure. Surely they wouldn't use real books. His hand reaching out to touch it, and almost instantly, he snapped his fingers back, eyes growing wide! _My Lord, they were real books! _Very much amazed, Harry continued to stand there, until a hurried passerby accidentally knocked into him. With a quick apology from the person, Harry went on his way. An amazing white building came into his view. With something he couldn't put in words, he felt a strange lure to go in. Walking up the white marble steps, he wondered whether there was a spell to make the stains automatically vanish, as it was very white. Going into the large golden doors, ignoring a poem that was inscribed onto the wall, he stopped abruptly. Creatures, green, and politely said, _odd looking, _were sitting behind counters, some talking to people, some balancing colorful stones and recording their weight on yellowish paper, and some standing awkwardly in a very still position. Guessing they were the guards, and this was probably a bank, he went to a random…creature, to ask for a map. After all, banks provide much service, and a map wouldn't be that hard, would it?

Timidly, he asked "Excuse me, my name is Harry Potter, and…"

The creature looked up interestedly. "Harry Potter? Key, please?"

Confused, Harry said "Key? What key?"

The creature said, "Your key to you vault, of course."

"I don't have a vault. I think you have the wrong person." Harry said bluntly.

Raising it's grayish eyebrows, the creature said "Mr. Potter, do you have a scar?"

Very confused, Harry said, "How do you know about it? But yeah, I do. Look." He lift his cap up to reveal his scar.

The creature, sensing something was very much not normal, asked, "Mr. Potter, do you know who I am?"

Harry looked at him and blushed "Sorry, I don't."

The creature suddenly rang a bell next to a desk, and two of those creatures appeared.

"I'm sorry," stammered Harry, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything…"

The creature chuckled and said "Mr. Potter, you did not offend me. Please follow these two goblins to a room and we'll explain everything."

Confused more than ever, Harry was led to a nice room with a sofa and matching chairs with a black, rectangular table. Within a few seconds, a different, now known as a specie of goblins, entered.

The goblin smiled and said "Mr. Potter, I'm delighted to meet you. Please sit down."

Harry, still shocked from actually seeing goblins, said "Likewise.."

"I am Gostdren, your financial manager. I'm here to explain much to you. I see you probably have no knowledge of the magical world?"

"Magical world? No, I think not. I just wandered in this pub, and then here I am. The building seemed to call me to come here, for some weird reason." Harry stammered.

Gostdren laughed, "Ahh, this place is called Gringotts. It has it's own magic. If a vault has not been touched for a while, the owners would seem to be lured into the bank and renew the vault. Now, you Mr. Potter, have vaults that haven't been touched for quite a while."

Harry's mouth threatened to be re-dropped again. Holding his composure, he said, "I don't think I have money. My parents died when I was young, and if I had money, my guardians probably have ate it up already."

Gostdren was quite surprised. After all, the boy-who-lived knew nothing about being able to live. "Mr. Potter, I sincerely think that I am not the person to tell you about your heritage. I suggest that you pick up some galleons, which is money in the wizarding world, and get a book on the recent history of this world. Some facts may be untrue, but once you have an idea of what this new world is like, please come see me again."

Harry, muddled from what he had experienced this morning, could only nod dumbly at Gostdren and followed him to a car. After a very fast ride, he was led to a large cave. Before it, was a door, in which he was directed to put a drop of blood in it. After that, it opened and Harry's jaw fell to the ground again. Inside were piles of gold, topping each other to the roof, and he could spot a few silver and bronze coins.

"Now this is just your trust vault. It has an interest of 5.0 a year, and right now it has a value of 1.5 million galleons, 7 sickles and 13 knuts. 17 sickles to a galleon, and 29 knuts to a sickle. Converted to pounds, one galleon equals to 8 pounds, so you roughly have 12 million pounds in this vault."

Trying to calm himself down, he squeaked "And this is only my trust vault?"

Gostdren grinned, and sensing Harry would not be able to function properly with all this information, he said "Right you on, Mr. Potter. Now, I'm not sure how much you would be spending, but I'll put 2500 galleons in this bag." With goblin magic, Gostdren transferred the money in it. "Don't worry, Mr. Potter, this bag is charmed to weigh nothing and only the owner could use it. As you are one of Gringott's most wealthy customers, the bag is free. When we get back to the lobby, I'll give you a wallet to provide your Muggles money. Muggles means humans without magic, in case you're wondering."

Finally in control of only his movements, they arrived into the lobby, and with a shaky smile and wave, Harry left to the bookstore Gostdren had suggested.

Still in awe of the bank, the structure of the bookshop, and basically, everything, Harry walked into the bookstore. With a quick glance at his watch, (it read 10:08), he quickly began picking books. After finding a basket to put books in, he went to the "Magic" section. Knowing he did not have much time, he grabbed a few dusty tomes in his reach "Wandless Magic", "Wandless", "What Magic is", "Transfiguring Everything" (Catchy title, Harry thought) "Charm to Charm", "1200 Hexes and 1551 Jinxes" were hurriedly put in the basket. He wasn't tall, so these were books that people did not regularly read. Not that Harry knew, but still.

Going into the "History" section, he grabbed "The Self-Updating Magical History and Encyclopedia Book". Figuring that should cover everything, he walked towards the counter. A book on Wizarding Law was in his reach, so he grabbed it too. Paying 78 galleons and 3 sickles, with a lie of "I burned some old books in our library" to the suspicious cashier, and buying a bag that said "Save the Environment! Don't use paper bags!" which was weightless and looked like a backpack, (he snorted at the logo, _tell that to the free supply of paper bags for customers over there_) he rushed to the doorway in the brick wall. Using his special ability, he slid through the shadows and opened the door to the, ahem, muggle world.

Turning left to D'Amour, he went in and asked to see the manager. It was 10:25, and he was relived; he wasn't late. The manager then showed him the place where he would be at the whole day. It was a tiny room, and a conveyor belt was connected to go in, but not out. Harry was not allowed out of the room until his time was up, and the dishes that he washed had to be neatly stacked and dried in a special rack, and be put on a one-way flap window so that it would end up in the kitchen when pushed by Harry. It was like prison, and Harry wondered whether the person who owned the restaurant was possible related to his uncle. But he then doubt it. If his uncle had half the brains the owner had, he could torture him more than he does. It was rather ingenious – only the manager had the key to lock and unlock him in his little prison, and the only was to get out was to push an emergency button that could only be used in emergencies. In other words, no customers could see the restaurant was using underage, and cheap labor.

And so, Harry went cleaning the dishes without lunch for the whole day, and it wasn't until 7 when he could hear the click of the door and it opened to let him out. Figuring he had more than 12 millions pounds, and that his parents did left him with his horrible relatives, he called for a taxi to stop right beside Privet Drive, as he did not want his uncle and aunt to know about how exactly rich he was.

Walking for 3 minutes, he rang on the doorbell of No. 4, and waited for his Aunt to open the door. Trudging in like a dead corpse, Harry gave quick acknowledgements to his relatives. Going up to his room, he fell on to the bed. However, something was blocking him from the bed. He looked back and saw his backpack. Grinning, he took it off and put it on the floor. It was then when he realized he was quite dirty. Going into the bathroom and returning 20 minutes later all clean and in Dudley's oversized second-hands', he turned on his bedside light and pulled out "Wandless Magic". It was quite worn-out, with snippits ripped in this page and that. Shrugging, he turned randomly to a page, and read:

_Wandless magic is quite simple. Used by people ever since BC 204, it only requires determination and access to the person's magical core. The size of magical cores depends both on the person's inherited genes and his determination to increase, or for some, to decrease it. It is, indeed, possible to have abnormally large cores as the cores do not have space. It is merely a place in where your magic is stored. It could be anywhere, but in one way, no where, as it can only be accessible by the person alone. Different cores have different colors. They are usually the same color as the aura of the wizard, but may change like personalities. To access one's core, one must sit still, and find strands of light within him. By following those strands of light, it would either end as bits of magic coming out from a certain part of the body, depending on where that particular strand leads, or to the core. It may be a long time to find the core, as the distance is rather unfathomable. The core, I must repeat, is not exactly in the body, but in a space where it stays with the body. Alchemists think that it is in the heart, but no one can be sure, as it has not been proven yet._

Deciding this would be a good start-up practice, Harry closed his eyes and lay on his bed. Concentrating on finding strands of light, he began to search. Harry's breathing began slower, and his whole body relaxed. For quite a while he was in darkness, and suddenly, he came upon a yellowing, glowing light. It wasn't a thin strand, but quite thick that seemed to buzz contently. He touched it, and it seemed to run though his fingers. Logically thinking, if the core was a lake, the it's rivers would most likely move out of it, and so he began to go to the opposite direction where the strand flowed. Seconds later, the light began growing bigger and bigger, and suddenly, the brightness stopped and he came upon a big golden pond. In it, he could see fishes swimming happily in it, flipping out of the water, uh, magic once in a while. Turning back to go back to reality, he blinked and then he was back in his room, staring at the ceiling.

Grinning exhaustedly, he decided it was enough practice, so he turned off his lights and went to bed.

Unknown to Harry, the 2nd page of the book read "Wandless Magic – For Mages"

/\

Author's Rants: Thanks to valindil, and Fire From Above(I was talking about American Football, thks, btw!) who were kind enough to review. Shame on the 70+ others who only clicked. So to cancel out your shame, just press the button and you'll have a very hyper author who would write ASAP!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Thanks to all who reviewed, and for all the suggestions. I read them ALL, and I greatly appreciated them!!

Chapter 3

The next day was gloomy and dark, and Harry had the luxury of sleeping in, and in his terms, 15 minutes later. He was surprised to find his Aunt making breakfast when he went down, and decided to help. The kitchen had only sounds of the pan-frying and the occasional clangs of pots and pans. In a complete silence of breakfast (as Uncle Vernon did not need to go to work and Dudley was just a pig) of two people, Harry hurriedly ate his share and sensing his Aunt wasn't going to say anything, he concluded he was free from chores that day. Going up the stairs by twos, something he did in hopes of growing taller; (Harry knew he was rather small for his age, though he tried not to admit that.) Then, he grinned. Maybe magic would help.

Going into his room and closing his door carefully, he lay down on his bed. Reaching into his core was faster this time, and it makes sense, he thought. The more you do something, the faster and more efficient you'd get. Concluding this would be good for further magic practicing, he reached and left his core a few more times until he decided his speed was acceptable. Digging through his backpack and picking up "Transfiguring Everything", he went through the content for household items. Finding the section on beds, he turned to page 20 and read the enchantments.

"Changero…changero…"muttered Harry.

Knowing the words, he pointed his finger at a piece of paper and said clearly "Changero Chair!"

Nothing happened.

Putting some more stress on the words, he said "Changero Chair!"

POOF!

The paper suddenly turned into a comfortable chair, with wooden legs and cushioned seats. The back was also cushioned, and seemed to be made from silk.

Wow, Harry thought. Grinning widely, he began pointed at random items and changing them into more luxurious items. 15 minutes later, his room had a 180-degree turnover. His bed was now a four-poster, with shimmering, gold curtains and green sheets. The desk now became a very expensive-looking oak desk that had four drawers on one side, accompanied by the chair he had transfigured a while earlier. The bookshelf that was already in the room was transformed into a black, sleek modern bookshelf, which fitted just perfectly beside the desk. Harry's bedside lights were now permanently stuck onto the walls, with small crystals hanging delicately down. A green rocking chair was beside the window, and a little round table rested next to it. His bathroom looked much better too. The bathtub was more like a Jacuzzi, and he had now two marble bath sinks. Harry had always like the smooth, cold texture of marble, so he decided to make his tiles into a soft tone of light gold, with a few uneven lighter lines running through. He never liked being perfect. Perfect meant imperfect, if that ever makes sense.

Picking up "Charm to Charm", he read the part where spaces could be enlarged. Grinning more widely than before, he made his room twice as large, and was very happy with the results. His room, it was his, by the way, was a very deluxe suite that he would enjoy very much in living.

Suddenly, he chilled all over.

What would his relatives say?

Sweat breaking quickly, he went to find his encyclopedia. Harry was sure he could do something to the Dursley's by magic, but it wasn't worth it. All the while muttering, he opened up the book. On every page, it was the same: "Please speak what you are looking for."

Quite surprised, Harry said, "How people can't see what I see."

The page paused for just a second, and flipped to a page by itself.

It said:

_Please pick: _

_Continuing Seeing the Original _

_Hiding Away from Enemies _

_Hiding Treasure _

Harry quickly scanned through and said, "Letting other continue seeing the original."

The book turned to another page and stopped.

Harry read:

_The Normality Spell _

_Hiding from the prying eyes of Muggles? You have now found the spell. This spell would let Muggles think they are seeing the same thing it had been before touched by magic, so it is very useful on magical items and houses. To enchant your space, please put items that could be used to connect the area. It could be anything, but it MUST be in all of the corners to have the full area enchanted. Then, say "Hideous" and tap on a chosen item. Repeat until all corners have been tapped. The items would have a yellowish glow when successfully touched. Then go to the estimated middle of the area and say "Hideous Areno!" The items would glow green for 5 seconds if casted successfully. The items must be always in the same place, so we would suggest sticking a small pebble in the corners and using them as the templates. We would also suggest using a Forgetful Charm on the area, as it is very handy to ward Muggles off. _

Grabbing a piece of paper and ripping it into 8 pieces, he used some tape to stick them onto the 4 corners of his room, and 4 others in his bathroom. Casting the charm twice, he then finally let out a breath of relief. Thinking a Forgetful Charm would be very strange if others see a person trying to go in, and leave almost at once. Going out of his room to admire his work, he saw Dudley coming in his way.

"Hey Dudley, could you see anything in my room?"

Dudley stupidly stuck his head into Harry's room and snarled "It looks worse now that you've lived in it!"

Harry beamed. "Thanks!"

Dudley's beady eyes looked even smaller as he skeptically glanced at Harry. "You wanna fight, shrimp? Get out of my way!"

Harry could only continue smiling and let Dudley through.

_After all, Dudley needs all the room he can get,_ grinned Harry.

/\

Going back into his room, sitting comfortably in his chair, he then realized something. If he was a wizard, then what were his parents? Where they wizards too?

Standing up abruptly, he went to find his encyclopedia, which was hidden carefully in his bag. Not that he needed to hide it anymore, but just to be on the paranoid side. After all, if Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia saw what he could do, they would surely ban him from everywhere and give him a good beating to _beat_ the magic out. They may be treating him nicer than they regularly do, but Harry knew if authorities found out they were eating up his paycheck, it wouldn't be any good to their hard-earned reputation. Harry snorted at that. The Dursleys did have a nice house, with a nice car that was changed every few years, with very nice furniture in most parts of the room, but they were cheapskates. When Harry had the privilege of going out to dinner with them, the family had spotted a friend, and ate dinner with them. At the end, when the bill came, Uncle Vernon had protested to pay for it, then made a foolish show of finding his wallet. That 30-second act was enough for the friend to get the idea and pay for the dinner, and after that Uncle Vernon had slapped his back and commented he would pay for the next dinner. Harry doubt Uncle Vernon actually saw the person again in restaurants.

Finally getting the book, he sat down on his bed, which was so luxurious that Harry couldn't help but smile at it. Speaking clearly to the book, Harry said, "James and Lily Potter."

The book flipped itself open and turned to a page.

_Brief History of James and Lily Potter _

_James Potter, born from a wealthy pureblood family, went to Hogwarts when he was 10 and met Lily Evans, who was a muggleborn. After six years, Lily Evans finally agreed to date James Potter, and were married right after they graduated. Harry James Potter was born after a year, but on Hallow's Eve of 1890, the Dark Lord, Voldemort, found them and killed both James and Lily Potter after a struggle. For some unknown reason, Lord Voldemort suddenly vanished after attempting to cast a Killing Spell on baby Harry, and because of this, Harry James Potter is hailed as the boy-who-lived. _

_Um…boy-who-lived?_ thought Harry. He quickly found what in the world about purebloods and muggleborns meant, (and couldn't help but wrinkled his nose when he saw "mudblood" that was listed as a synonym beside it.)

For the next hour, Harry found out much about the wizarding world, and had a newfound experience of hating someone – Voldemort. Sure, the Dursleys were quite mean and rude, and frankly, treated him quite awful, but they were related in one way. They wouldn't actually want to kill him, but Voldemort? He took away Harry's ticket from a loving and caring family. Hell, he might even have siblings. He won't have any, now, thanks to Voldemort.

Glaring at nowhere particular, Harry let out his frustration. He was eight, and it seemed the wizarding world treated him as if he was destined to fight Voldemort. How can he be recognized of doing something when he didn't understand how in the world he did it? But none the less, destiny or not, Lord Voldemort murdered his parents, a whole bunch of innocent people, and Harry would defeat him again, if he was (the book did say he disappeared) Harry most definitely didn't want to be a sitting duck if the Lord-who-got-defeated-by-this-baby returned.

Grimacing slightly, he knew he wasn't exactly "hero" material. Harry was short and scrawny, and he really needed to change that. Knowing the best time to start was right now, he began planning. Frowning, he figured out his time was school and then work, his only free time was on Sunday and Harry was sure he wouldn't be so lucky to squirm out of chores every week. Suddenly, he grinned. Plotting in his head, he began to read his charms book to learn a few nifty spells when going to work…

/\

Harry was bored. School was boring as usual, and he really began to think Mondays should be illegal.

R-rrrring

He let out a sigh of relief. Finally school was over! He quickly packed his stuff, and walked out to the door. It was then when he realized he forgot to bring money and he froze stiff. Quickly thinking, he thought, _maybe I can create this portal and travel through space. I've read wizards popping from nowhere. Yes, yes, that'll do._

Going to the boy's washroom, he checked no one was in and shut the door. Walking towards a corner, he pictured the dark alley beside D'Amour. No one would notice if he suddenly appeared in thin air. Concentrating hard on the memory, he let out a strand of magic from his body (the training with his core helped immensely) and with no sound at all; he suddenly arrived in the alley. However, he had forgotten about the large garbage stand, and he was now sitting beside fish heads and steak bones. His lips instantly curling in disgust, a habit picked from his Aunt, and Harry jumped off it. He instantly performed a Cleaning Spell on himself.

Harry was a very smart boy, and may have an IQ of 135 if someone had cared to check. He found that academically, he was a quick learner, and could remember the things he cared to. Atheletly, he was a fast runner. He also had an eye for catching things, but when it involved moving his hands with his feet, the results were very embarrassing. Blushing slightly at a memory of him trying to dance, Harry shook his head as if to get rid of the embarrassing thoughts, and went in D'Amour.

Having two hours to kill, he requested to do his homework before beginning. Grudgingly permitting, the manager let him used one of the tables for his work. As it was not opened yet, Harry was allowed. 15 minutes of doing his homework, and 15 minutes playing around with his magic core, he used the rest to lift random objects up and down when nobody was looking. When it was 4:55, the manager made Harry go into the room for work.

After hearing the click of the manager locking the door, Harry set his plans in motion. Harry concentrating in forming a thin, bluish barrier on the conveyor belt, which was made to let any dish automatically washed and cleaned. The brilliant trick, something Harry was very proud of (as he thought of it himself), was that after going though the barrier, the dishes would soar through the air and find a place in the special racks on its own. He began to charm the racks to be lifted onto the windowsill after filling up. Harry only had to push the racks slightly into the window and he was done! Grinning like a maniac, he waited for the first plate to come it. Seeing the delicate plate going through the barrier, flying up and landing gently on the rack, Harry let out a whoop of joy!

Charming a corner of the room to expand until it was as large as a track field, he began to run a lap, and after 3, he stopped to breath in large amounts of oxygen. Groaning, as his body was not used to long runs, (only quick ones to get away from Dudley) Harry stopped to push a rack through the window flap. Leaning on to the wall for support, he wiped his forehead with his hand. Thinking he should really improve in increasing his stamina, he continued running until he could run no more.

/\

It was night, and the stars twinkled merrily at Harry as he walked down the street to No. 4. Looking up, he wondered whether his parents were up there, looking out for him. He smiled sadly. Harry couldn't remember anything about his parents. The only memory was lots of green light and a maniac laugh and scream. He was darn sure that was not his dad's voice. But no matter what, he hoped that somewhere up there, they were proud of him.

If Harry had looked up a few more seconds, he could've seen two glimmering stars shooting right by.

/\

Coming out of the bathroom, Harry climbed onto his bed and brought out his encyclopedia. Too tired to speak, he searched through the contents on the life of the wizarding world. For the next two hours, he read through magical communities in England, the most recent wars in Wizarding Britain, and his would-be education in Hogwarts.

He then proceeded to search for his talent of "shadow walking", as he bluntly titled it. Harry also tried to search what his little no-sound traveling method was. But after 15 minutes of fruitless searching (and even asking the book for help), nothing showed up. Thinking he got ripped off for the encyclopedia, (though he didn't pay much for it) he put it in his bookshelf. Before he turned off the last light in his room, he thought "_I need to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow." _

/\

Portelling, he decided to name it, as he concentrated on the memory again in the boys' bathroom. Arriving next to the garbage this time, he wiped his forehead dramatically and grinned to himself. Knowing he was the boy-who-lived, he put on a cap on to avoid any cheek-pinching ladies, and overwhelmed people. Going into Leaky Cauldron, he went into the shadows immediately to avoid nosy people. After all, he was going in without a parent, and that would definitely look more than strange. Sliding through the shadows, he appeared right at the other door and went out. Walking merrily out of the wall, Harry began to take his time to look at his surroundings. Harry mentally hit himself for not thinking of Diagon Alley yesterday. Curiously looking at the cauldrons, he wondered what they were for. Of course he knew they were for potions, but what kind of potions? Harry now was very curious. Entering into the shop, he walked towards the sales keeper.

"Excuse me mister, I burned some potions books in my father's lab, and I'm wondering if I could get a replacement?"

The shopkeeper looked down on, grimacing. Harry continued with innocent, sparkling green eyes, "His birthday is coming soon, and mummy gave me lots and lots of gold coins to buy him something. Could you give me a jar of everything you have too?"

The shopkeeper's eyes went wide. Knowing this was an extremely large business deal, he quickly walked into his storeroom, and jars came floating out behind him. Opening a 4-cornered box, he began instructing the jars with his wand. Harry was looking at the book collection on the other side, oblivious of the shopkeeper's need of using a wand. Collection a few books on potions, Harry went to check the kinds of cauldrons. Deciding he'll have to use them all sooner or later, he asked for all of them. Eyes popping out more than ever, the shopkeeper packed the jars tightly in the box and shrunk it into a matchbox sized. Going towards the cauldrons, he shrank them and put them in a small bag. Telling Harry to yell out "activate" when he got home, the shopkeeper gave him the price (1200 galleons, 10 off for buying so much) and Harry went on his way.

Passing by the clothes shop, as he didn't really need the Dursleys to get suspicious of his sudden wealth, Harry stopped at Quills from Quacks. As much as he didn't like admitting, he had a thing for accessories. Harry like colors from the whitest white to the royal purple, and quite adored gold and emerald green too. Looking into the store, and he was in heaven! Quills of different sizes and different breeds were shown at a corner, and the shelves had inks of red, blue, green, yellow, and any other he could've thought of. Some had magical properties, like a few colors changing when written, (there were combinations of various kinds) and one that was priced 3 galleons for changing into every color possible. Harry picked up that one in glee, and went to get a bottle of black and blue. As much as he wanted to buy the whole store, he knew he would never have the chance to use them all in his lifetime, and even if he did, he'd then have the trouble of deciding which color to use. Yes, one that changed all would satisfy his needs. Going up to the quills, he decided to get the best ones. How in the world was he going to use the 12 million galleons (which was growing daily)? Selecting elegant-looking quills, Harry took a quill made from a bald eagle, and one from a red phoenix. He was surprised at the price for the phoenix quill, as ten galleons for a measly quill was not cheap. The sales explained the store only stock still-living phoenix's feathers, so the quills would have an amount power in it. Understanding slightly, Harry paid his package for 13 galleons and 2 sickles. But he spotted a bag on the counter that said "Bottomless, weightless, and waterproof", so he put all his stuff in and gave 6 more sickles to the cashier.

Whistling a light tune, Harry decided to stop by Gringotts. Asking for Gostdren, he was led into the same room. His financial manager was sitting before the large desk, with a few stack of yellowish paper, now known as parchment to Harry, lying randomly around. Looking up, Gostren waved a greeting and asked Harry to take a seat.

Smiling at Harry, Gostren put away his work and said, "I see you've been on a small shopping spree. Have you come to withdrawn some more?"

Shaking his head, Harry said, "I found about what…I did when I was younger. But I didn't know how I did it, that's the problem."

Gostren chuckled. "I see. Mr. Potter, this is something that would always happen. Goblins believe Voldemort has not exactly left this world, and a confrontation would happen soon. You are a hope, no matter how you may not want it. As you are one of Gringotts' most respected customers, we do surely hope our business would continue, and that would be you being alive."

Harry just stared at him.

Amused by the child, Gostren continued, "I believe you know what I'm talking about. The goblins have been neutral in the war, but this would be one we would side with a more, sensible side. You are young, but all goblins can feel your potential."

"But, I'm 8! I-I just don't have the knowledge of Voldemort! He can squeeze me to death any day!"

Chuckling, Gostren said "My dear child, you would know how great you would be someday. I believe you have a part time job at 5. It's four-thirty, you'd better get on going now."

Looking at his watch, and bewildered at how his financial manager had known the time, Harry hastily said goodbye to the manager and left as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Smiling at Harry's quick retreat, Gostren though_t "My, this child would grow up to be a wonderful man, with all the qualities of what a hero should be. Brave, cunning, loyal, and non-racism. Fairly intelligent too, from what his appearance and precautions he's taking." _

All goblins look at the tiny figure run out of the door at the corner of the eyes. Most were amused, and some were hopeful. Maybe the snobbish wizarding world would change to the better. Someday.

/\

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A/R: This is probably the stuff Harry would have the power for a while. The next, or next next's chapter would be on Hogwarts, haven't really decided it yet. Oh, and click that button to give me a review!!!

Jamie


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: I know, I know, I'm updating quite slow. Too bad! HA! (Because of this author's tendency to adore chocolate, she is now having a bad case of sugar rush.)

Chapter 4

During the next three years, Harry had continued his "double" life – pretending to be a prodigy in the muggle world, and practicing magic until it began second nature to him. He could now run for a few hours without stopping, and he was very proud of that. Having a very good background in potions, something that came to him quite naturally, he was sure he could make most of the potions the professor would throw at him. Though with newfound powers, Harry didn't feel the need to scare his relatives, he did live off them in one way. But, he now had a private kitchen (magically expanded) to fit his needs. Harry's clothes were still secondhands; he never cared much about his appearance.

He was feeling quite excited, as he would be going to Hogwarts in a week. Harry remembered the day when a letter came to him by mail.

_Flashback_

Quietly pocketing it, he read it privately in his bedroom. Having already bought most of his supplies some day or another, he was thankful he wasn't going to have a big shopping day. Harry was rather bewildered when the school requested him to buy a wand. What in the world would he need a wand for? None-the-less, he had stopped at Olivander's to get his wand, which was made from holly, with a feather from a Phoenix, the same phoenix, in fact, where Voldemort's wand had one of it's feather as the core. Sparks flew from it, as Harry touched the wand. He didn't feel anything different, except he knew it would be a very big disadvantage if he could only use the wand in battle. Luckily, he didn't need a wand. Figuring it must be another tool in the weird world, he left the odd store.

Going into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Harry sigh. He never liked clothes shopping. Pushing the doors, Harry spotted quite a few people in there getting measured. A lady came and asked him, "Hogwarts, dear?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, come in, come in. Follow me please."

She led Harry to a stool and made him stand on it. The lady then said, "I'll just go get the measurements, wait for me please."

Harry obediently nodded. On his side, a boy whose hair was blonde looked at him. His gray eyes seemed to gaze up at Harry once before saying, "Are you going to Hogwart's too?"

Harry looked at him and smiled. "Yes, I am. My name's Harry, what's yours?"

The boy arrogantly said, "My name is Draco Malfoy, and I'm a pureblood."

Harry grimaced. "I'm a half-blood, but does that really matter?"

Draco looked at Harry as if he had grown another head. "Of course it matters! Purebloods are what made the society wealthy. Until the muggle-borns came, that is. Besides, the Dark Lord wants all muggleborn out."

Having done some research on Voldemort, Harry said arrogantly. "It may interest you that Voldemort is a half-blood. In fact, since my mother was a muggleborn witch, and that my father was pureblood, I may be more purer than him."

Draco stuck his nose up. "As in?"

"Voldemort's mother was pure, but his dad was a plain muggle. Don't believe all that nonsense about bloodlines. There isn't enough proof."

Another lady came and told Draco he was finished. With a meaning stare at Draco, Harry paid no more notice to him as Draco walked off, having a thoughtful look on his young, pale face.

Promptly leaving his store with his school robes and some casual muggle clothing, he thought he'd treat himself with a pet. Thinking an owl would attract much attention in the Dursleys, Harry figured he could get something more small. Going into the pet shore, Harry was astonished there were quite a large variety of pets. Some bat-like creatures were up in a cage; a ginger cat was sitting moodily, confined by glass. But it was a golden puppy that caught the eye of Harry. Asking the shopkeeper what breed it was, he was surprised to find it was a rare griffin and snow kneezle breed, making it extremely smart and intelligent.

"Just came in yesterday, this little guy." Exclaimed the shopkeeper proudly. "One of a kind, I must say, but it's a mean little fellow! Bite my hand, it did yesterday."

However, when Harry reached down to pet it, the puppy-like creature yawned contently and licked his hands.

Surprised, the shopkeeper said, "Well, it must like you a lot. It's 70 galleons for it, and I'll throw in a cage and a book on how to take care of it."

The Griffzle was now nuzzling on Harry hands, purring happily. Having read that a Griffzle can not only fly when spreading their hidden wings, but also grow at a rate so slow, that it would be very suitable for it to stay at Hogwarts. Smiling widely, Harry paid for the Griffzle, and hope it'll behave itself.

/\

The night before going to King's Cross, Harry was graciously invited to eat dinner with his family. Waiting until everybody was close to finish, Harry decided to drop the bomb.

"Err…I'm leaving for another school tomorrow."

Aunt Petunia scowled, and Uncle Vernon began changing colors. "What do you mean, you good-for-nothing freak! Are you saying you're not good enough for Stonewall!"

Harry sighed. "Not like that, Uncle Vernon, but this school called Hogwarts…"

Vernon choked on his food. Petunia shrieked, "I am not paying for you to learn abnormality! No, you go to Stonewall!!"

Harry frowned. "I will remind you that your sister graduated from the same school I am going to."

"Don't you dare mention that freak around…"hissed Aunt Petunia. So you know…"

Dudley looked at them. "What? Mommy? What is the freak talking about?" he whined.

Harry held his head high. "Yes, I do. And I am going," Harry said stubbornly. "Besides," he started cheekily, "it'd would refine my skills."

Waving his hand over his dishes, they magically became clean.

With that, leaving Aunt Petunia shrieking, Uncle Vernon snarling, Harry walked merrily up the stairs.

He really needed earplugs, Harry thought, as Dudley's whining began flowing upstairs.

Entering his room, he promptly shut the door and locked it with the strongest charm he knew, and double layered it. Who knows what measure the Dursleys would take to prevent him from going to Hogwarts? Eyeing his window, Harry transfigured a few more pieces of glass that were all unbreakable. Amused at his own paranoia, Harry sat down on his bed, scratching Rangi, his newly named Griffzle, which meant "sky" in Maori. Knowing the cute puppy-like creature would be able to fly one day, Harry hoped he'll enjoy being free up there…

/\

"11 ¾…where in the world would I find anything like that?" muttered Harry. In the bustling train station, Harry mentally slapped himself. He should've read his encyclopedia ages ago.

People were already staring at him, with a weird trunk and an adorable puppy. Both just clash.

Swearing suitable for his age, Harry glanced uncertainly at the signs on top of him. Thinking he should try to detect magic, he closed his eyes and let very thin strands of his magic reach out. Practicing with his core paid him off. Soon, his magic could detect a wall that was magical. Opening his eyes, he walked to the wall. Cautiously, he pushed his cart lightly on the wall, and to his surprise, it went right through! Grinning, Harry congratulated the person who had such the brains to think of such weird thing. Under the muggles' noses, too, and the person must be laughing his socks off bewildered muggles as they tried to go through, but thought it should've been a hallucination, as he couldn't go through.

Slightly impressed by the long train, Harry accidentally bumped into the red-haired twins.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking." Apologized Harry.

"No pro-" said one of them.

"Blem. My name's George," George said.

"And I am Fred!" said Fred.

"We're twins!" both of them exclaimed, as if they didn't look like it.

Grinning, Harry crossed both of his hands to get a double handshake. "Harry here, please to make your acquaintance, oh mighty twins!"

The twins took his hands and shook them exaggeratedly.

"So, a firstie, eh?"

"What should we do, Fred?"

"Hmm…deep fried - "

"Or boiled?"

"Maybe steamed?"

"With mom's special sauce?"

"Perfect!" Both shouted.

Harry began cautiously backing up. He wasn't sure there were customs about wizards eating other wizards…

"But we don't like eating human beings…" started one.

"It's not like we'd ever tried…"

"But we should get him on the train first…"

"To send him to Hogwarts…"

"And fatten him up!" both said.

Both laughing, they helped Harry's luggage into the compartments that were opened from the lower side of the train, with Harry nervously eyeing them. Both were jokers, he was sure, but Harry was still nervous. Maybe because he didn't had the upper hand. Just that second, Harry grinned. Well, he was Harry Potter…

Waving at the twins, Harry got on the train. Magically making his eyes look watery, he began his revenge.

Looking into all the compartments, he saw a group of teenage females, all whispering and giggling. He went in quietly, and tugged on one of their robes, looking helplessly at them.

"Excuse me," he fake-sobbed, "These two red-haired twins have took my luggage…"

The girls looked at each other and couldn't resist the large, shimmering eyes of one Harry Potter. With stricken expressions, two of the girls stayed with Harry while the others went off to catch the culprits.

While the two girls began to pinch Harry's cheeks and kept on commenting how cute he was, Harry hoped the other girls had finally caught the twins. As if on cue, Fred and George were handcuffed onto their compartment with the girls holding them tightly.

"So, cutie, were they who took your luggage?"

Making his eyes more watery, Harry's eyes glossed even more, giving an appearance of total innocence. Taking that as a yes, the girls began sharing evil looks.

"But…"

"We didn't do…"

"Anything!" the twins said together, dumbfounded at what was happening. Both stared at Harry, who gave them a look of pure amusement, with a glint of evilness showing in his rather watery eyes.

The girls, one of them assuring Harry's luggage was safe, ushered him out of the compartment, saying whatever would be happening, was not exactly suitable for his age. Complying, Harry sent a fast wicked grin to the twins, and with the girls all oblivious, he went out of the door, whistling a merry tune as he walked in the hallway on the train, with Rangi trailing after him.

He finally found a compartment that was empty, and went in. Pulling out one of his potions books bought a while ago, Harry began to re-reread it. He was sure Hogwart's curriculum wouldn't be that advanced, but just to be sure, he decided to read ahead. After all, the boy-who-lived wouldn't live up to his name by dying from a potion, right?

_Shoosh!_ The compartment door suddenly threw open, and a bushy-haired girl came into view. Seeing Harry's eyebrows raised at her, she said "Excuse me, have you seen a toad around here somewhere? Someone lost one."

Harry politely shake his head, and asked the girl, "Hi, my name's Harry. Could you describe the frog for me?"

Smiling slightly, she said, "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Hermione Granger. The frog's slightly grayish, but with a few spots of green."

Concentrating slightly, Harry looked at the frog in his mind, and ordered his magic to bring him the frog. Within seconds, a frog appeared in his outstretched hands, and half a second later, Hermione's eyes looked at Harry with awe.

"Wow, how did you do that? That must be advanced magic!"

Harry grinned. "Special trick."

Suddenly noticing Ransi, Hermione let out a squeal of delight. "Aww, he's so cute! What is he?"

"Oh, him?" Harry grinned. "Bought him from a store and he's a Griffzle. Half griffin and half kneezle personally think they are related to dogs. For some reason, this half-breed ended up looking like a dog!" Harry joked. Rangi then bit him right on the finger, making Harry mock hitting him. "And very intelligent." Rangi seemed to beam at the compliment, making it look prouder. "But also arrogant." Rangi growled at Harry, and Harry ruffled its fur, grinned, leaned down and quietly said to Rangi. "And my first real friend."

Hearing this, Rangi nuzzled Harry, and crawled into his lap, comforting with his owner and friend.

Looking at the affection between the two, Hermione smiled at them and took the frog from Harry.

Harry looked up at Hermione. "Now, why don't you give the frog back to your friend? I'm sure he or she would be more than happy to find it."

Hermione nodded and went to open the compartment door.

"Oh, and if you're having trouble finding a seat, you and your friend would be more than welcome to sit here!" Harry called out.

Putting his potions book back into his bag, Harry turned to look out of the window. Green trees rushed by, and the streams and rivers seemed to flow out of the picture, as if they were alive. Harry spotted a few birds, and swore he saw a rainbow ever so slightly in the sky. He wondered whether leprechauns were real, and that there was a pot of gold hiding under the damp earth at the end of a rainbow.

Just then, someone opened the compartment door again, and Draco Malfoy, the boy he met in the shop came in.

Seeing the person he met earlier in Diagon Alley, Draco immediately thought of the conversation they had. Still confused between the facts Harry had said, and the views his father told him, Draco surely didn't know what to do.

Smiling slightly at him, Harry offered him the seat in front of him. Draco took the seat. Fidgeting a bit, Draco opened his mouth, but Harry cut him to it.

"I know you're still wondering about the whole blood thing. It's okay if you're still doubting my views."

At this, Draco was surprised. He had never had a friend who, well, understood. And the person in front of him wasn't even his friend.

"I heard that some pureblood families teach their children about the blood thing." Explained Harry.

Nodding, Draco quietly looked out of the window. A while later, he said, "I know you know my name, but what is yours?"

"Harry."

Narrowing his eyes, Draco looked at Harry.

Noticing this, Harry smirked. "So you're quite fast, huh? Promise you won't yell when I say who I am?"

Shaking his head, Draco motioned Harry to continue.

"My name's Harry. Harry Potter."

Draco dropped his jaws.

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed.

Closing his mouth, and remembering he was a Malfoy, he looked at Harry at a new light.

"I'm no celebrity. Stop staring me." Grinning, Harry continues, "Unless you swing the other way, in which I may tell you, I prefer females."

A tinge a pink appeared on Draco's pale cheeks. He diligently said, "I am not gay!"

Harry chuckled. "I know, I know. I was just playing around. So, what's your favorite sport?"

Draco grimaced in annoyance, and then excitedly said, "Of course Quidditch, I like to play as a keeper. How about you? Do you play Quidditch?"

Looking at Harry's blank face, Draco paled. "You don't know what Quidditch is?" Draco whispered. "No, this could not happen."

For the next hour or so, Harry was indulged by a whole new game, which he decided, was worse that Harry Hunting. With hundreds a moves that does not qualify as penalties, Quidditch was one real violence game. But like most reckless guys, he concluded Quidditch was a wicked sport.

/\

A while later, they stopped conversation to have lunch. Harry bought a wide variety of sweets, which he hadn't noticed quite before in Diagon Alley. Asking Draco about it, Draco answered, "Sweets are usually sold from a sweet store. There's a very small one down in Diagon Alley, but unless you are trying to find sweets, you won't actually notice it."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Magic."

"……"

So after tasting a few, uh, delicacies of sweets from the magical world, Harry concluded magic folk was plain weird. Why would anyone want to eat a chocolate frog when it looks and acts and feels like one? It was just plain disturbing, Harry thought, if a baby saw a real frog and thought it was chocolate. (Harry shuddered) The only thing Harry liked was a bar of chocolate that had warm caramel melting in his mouth, and Harry concluded happily: it was magic.

He also found that people liked collecting the trading cards behind the chocolate frogs. (His first card was Dumbledore) Before long, they were close to Hogwart's and were asked to change into their school robes. Taking turns changing inside the compartment, they were ready to go in no time.

"F'rst years! C'mon ov'r here!" A huge man with a mustache motioned them as they stepped off the train. Going on to a boat that fit only two people each, Harry and Draco quickly went on. As they were floating and were carried by the current to arrive at the main door of Hogwart's, which was a lovely castle that seemed to came out of a fairy book. Commenting this to Draco, he said, "Did you know, that a lot of the muggle's tales were written from wizards?"

A bit awed at the information, Harry continued to watch Hogwart's as it became closer and even more beautiful if it could. Soon, with some regret from Harry, they arrived to shore and walked to the main door.

Led by a stern professor by the name of McGonagall, Harry knew he would have a good education at Hogwarts.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry looked at himself and brushed his clothes a few times, just for the sake of it. Beside him, Draco held his head up high, as if he was insulted that he wasn't properly dressed enough.

"The sorting ceremony will being soon. Please wait here." Said Professor McGonagall.

Suddenly, a herd of pearly white ghosts came through the wall, letting many of his year mates gasp at the sight.

They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

Harry suddenly felt many fast strands of magic going at him and his classmates at a fast pace. At instinct, he created a barrier between himself and the magic. He focused on making the barrier large and dome-like, so that no magic would be going in.

Opening his eyes, he smiled at the glassy bubble. All ghosts became quiet, so as the students. Then, whispering began erupting between the ghosts.

"This shouldn't have happened."

"How would the ministry track down the underage magic then?"

The students however, panicked.

"Let me out of here!"

"I'm trapped!"

Rolling his eyes slightly, Harry stepped up and said, "I'm sorry, but there seems to be magic attacking us. Please wait here until the professor comes. We're safe in this bubble."

His soon-to-be classmates all quieted down. However, one red-haired boy boldly called out, "Who are you? Stop lying! You couldn't be able to perform such advance magic! You're a liar!"

Draco, who heard this, sneered at the red-haired boy. "I may suggest that you find proof before accusing. Like father, like son." Draco said, referring to the time the red-haired boy's father had came to his mansion and tried to find dark artifacts.

Harry, grateful to have someone to defend him, began to open his mouth. But just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened.

The noisy hall suddenly stopped their chattering as they saw the large bubble. Mouths dropped opened.

Albus Dumbledore, who was sitting behind the table, was curious. Happy, but curious. After all, this was a sign of advanced magic. Harry Potter must have done it.

"Who did this?" asked Professor McGonagall sternly.

Harry raised his hands slowly.

"Please put down that…thing of yours now! The ministry uses the time to put tracking spells on the students so that they would keep track of what magic the student uses!"

"Um…sorry?" said Harry awkwardly. He quickly dismissed the bubble away.

Seeing such advanced magic, all eyes turn on him. Harry posed a defensive stance. "What?"

Professor McGonagall, very much surprised at the control of magic the student had, took one second before regaining her stance.

"Please follow me. You're going to be sorted soon."

One by one, the students uncertainly followed her. Looking curiously at the Great Hall, Harry was fascinated at the ceiling.

He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, _

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black, _

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be. _

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil; _

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_if you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folk use any means _

_To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid! _

_And don't get in a flap! _

_You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!" _

The whole hall burst into applauses the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

Harry was quite surprised. What a weird way to sort people.

/\

A/R: Thanks to all those review!

/\

animeflunky: The Dursley's got a taste of magic!

Fire From Above: I'll change that football thingee when I rewrite it. (If I ever get to it), since I am very lazy. Thanks for the tips!

Angel Xavier: I am very lazy. Please bear with it. :P

Fussbudget: I'm trying to restrain myself with Harry's powers. But right now he only has raw magic. Voldemort has the experience. With the "hideous" thing, I actually meant it as an irony for "muggles" . Think of how Vernon and Petunia would react if they actually had a normal, clean word that was really a spell!

Terris1: Death eaters? They suck. HA! (Please read the note on the very top. It would explain much of my behavior.)

athenakitty: Dumbledore would play as the Grandfather role. I never liked to go deep in fiction as it is fiction, so it'll be quite unrealistic for human behaviors. Like, most people are selfish and only care to tend for themselves. Not in this story! 

King of Vaypouria: Haven't decided it yet. Help?

queer hedwig: Thanks for all the reviews. (Yeah, I know my grammer sucks. Thanks for the tips!)

david9999: I haven't decided which character Harry would be with. But for certainly, it won't be Hermione. Hermione's just like Harry's sister in the series. I mean, eww…(sugar rush, anyways, no offence to H/Hr shippers. I read them too, but I just won't have them like that in this story.)

Serafin982: Soon…

David305: Thanks for all the brilliant tips! I really appreciate the effort you made in writing that long review! (Too bad I can't say the same for me…:P)

To the others who review, thanks again! I read all of them, (twice), so yeah, love ya guys!!

**IMPORTANT: Any suggestions in where Harry would be? I personally don't want him in Hufflepuff though.**

Review Please!

Jamie


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